cris well

Has anyone ever mounted the spare tire on the hatch with some heavy duty lift struts that raise the tire up with the hatch?

I've been thinking about the receiver hitch swing-down mount but curious about other ideas.

Thanks

Tbone289

The amount of reinforcement required to the hatch to accomplish this would greatly increase the weight of the hatch. That weight plus the weight of the wheel & tire would require a VERY strong strut to lift.

Ralph77

I don't think I would try this but found this video a long time ago.

Rockhead

I really don't think the hinges would take kind of abuse especially when off roading. Even my door hinges (two door) with no extra weight on them have given up the ghost.

Martlor13

x2

andrewmp6

If you have a 97 or newer you can get a kit for it now https://www.hkoffroad.com/products/x...e-tire-carrier But i don't like it covers the back window fully and your 3rd brake light both could get you a ticket on road.And if you back in to anything your hatch will break and the back glass.And the price of it is 430 dollars vs a smittybilt xj tire carrier back bumper is a little under 800 bucks.

Tbone289

Nice. I had no idea that this was available. There seem to be a lot of warnings and disclaimers involved.

700lbs of force on those struts... That does seem like a source for wear to strut mounting points and hinges.

Suprmn

the factory mounting points would never hold up to a spare on the gate with that strong of a strut. I have a mount that just sheared off from the regular struts.

cris well

I looked at that Kratos one in the link.

I'd like it to be lower as to not block the whole rear window but that would add even more stress on the hinges and struts.

I think I'll go back to the hitch mount idea.

I thought about using some kind of hub so I can pull a pin or bolt and let it swivel to the side and down rather than straight back.

I'd like to mount it as low as possible also.

Not worried about covering the tag.

Martlor13

go to detours off-road hardware on Facebook. His website is down because he relocated and is still getting everything, but he makes a spare tire carrier that goes into the receiver hitch. It folds down and is really nice. He has quite a few pictures posted from different vehicles. From the comments, it sounds like he is making alot of them, and it is one of the few products he is making now until everything is up and running. I looked into the carrier a few months back but ended up just leaving the spare in the jeep.

andrewmp6

If you have a 31 inch or smaller spare put it inside,If its bigger then that a hitch mount is a ok idea,But if you want more hardcore off road get a tire carrier bumper for the back.

Rockhead

35 inch mounted (bolted) to the floor board, great location for keeping COG as low as possible. I don't know if that tire size would fit with the back seat in place. Still plenty of room for camping gear with this setup.

unidentifiedbomb

This topic pops up time to time, and some attempt it. Simply put, there's a reason why it's not common....

BeachinXJSport

Stumbled across this...
http://www.rustysoffroad.com/jeep-ch...b8-bumper.html

Martlor13

that's an add on for their offroad bumper I believe